Tam  -  t&l 

Ofli'-SC.  - 

The  Church  School 

of 

Missions 

By 

WILLIAM  A.  HILL 

Department  of  Missionary  Education 

BOARD  OF  EDUCATION 

OF  THE 

NORTHERN  BAPTIST  CONVENTION 

276  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 

1921 

What  Constitutes  a  Missionary 
Motive  in  Christianity ? 


JAMES  FREEMAN  CLARKE 


answered  as  follows: 


The  Missionary  impulse  is  the  re¬ 
sponse  of  the  Christian’s  heart  to  the 
truth  of  God  as  seen  in  these  three 
aspects : 

1.  What  the  Gospel  is  to  God  who 
gave  it. 

2.  What  it  is  to  us  who  have  received 
it. 

3.  What  it  is  to  those  who  have  not 
yet  received  it. 


V 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL  OF 
MISSIONS 

What  is  it? 


THE  Church  School  of  Missions  is  the 
new  idea  of  great  promise  in  mission 
study.  It  is  the  whole  church  membership 
organized  into  graded  classes,  studying 
simultaneously  for  a  period  of  from  six  to 
ten  weeks,  the  whole  world  field. 

It  is  not  a  theory.  It  is  a  clearly  con¬ 
ceived  and  successfully  operated  plan  of 
missionary  education  which  seeks  to  include 
the  entire  church  in  its  classes.  It  has 
passed  beyond  the  experimental  stage,  and 
is  being  commended  on  every  hand. 

It  has  been  tried  by  many  churches  large 
and  small,  city,  suburban  and  rural,  in  our 
own  and  other  denominations  throughout 
the  United  States,  and  all  are  enthusiastic 
about  it. 

It  is  adaptable  to  local  conditions.  It 
works. 

SOME  RESULTS 

The  Church  School  of  Missions  has  a  fine 
record  of  achievement  in  California,  as  the 
following  figures  show : 


Church  School 

church  town  Member-  Enroll- 


ship 

ment 

First  Christian  . 

.  Pomona  .... 

650 

267 

First  Congregational  . . . 

.Pasadena  .. 

800 

150 

First  Christian  . 

.  Whittier  .  .  . 

370 

150 

First  Presbyterian . 

.Pasadena  . . . 

1864 

250 

Immanuel  Presbyterian. 

.Los  Angeles. 

2440 

600 

Westlake  Presbyterian.. 

.Los  Angeles. 

251 

75 

Presbyterian  . 

.  Santa  Ana .  . 

894 

221 

Presbyterian  . 

.  Monrovia  . .  . 

331 

150 

Presbyterian  . 

.Covina  . 

194 

71 

Pico  Heights  Christian.. 

.Los  Angeles. 

200 

104 

First  Christian . 

.  Riverside  .  .  . 

500 

125 

The  First  Baptist  Church,  Indiana¬ 
polis,  Indiana,  conducted  a  Church  School 
of  Missions,  which  it  advertised  as  “A  Win¬ 
ter’s  Night  College,”  and  had  seven  classes 
studying  the  Baptist  Survey  for  nine  weeks, 
with  the  following  record  of  attendance : 


CLASS 

ENROLLMENT 

AVERAGE  ATT. 

Men  . 

79 

57 

Women  . 

142 

91 

Senior  Girls . .  .  . 

27 

18 

Senior  Boys . 

25 

16 

Junior  Girls.... 

40 

23 

Junior  Boys .  .  . . 

32 

26 

Primary  . 

48 

35 

393 

266 

Record  of  Attendance 

by  Weeks 

Jan.  Jan. 

Feb. 

Feb. 

Feb. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Mar. 

Mar, 

23  30 

5 

12 

19 

26 

4 

11 

18 

Men  ....  90  60 

46 

47 

38 

56 

48 

54 

75 

Women  .  .110  93 

97 

101 

89 

95 

69 

70 

97 

Classes  were  attended  by  official  boards. 

Enterprise  directed  by  the  young  men  of 
the  church. 


New  World  Movement  Allotment . $290,000.00 

Voluntarily  increased  to .  300,000.00 

Actually  subscribed  over .  306,000.00 


The  First  Baptist  Church,  Lynn,  Mas¬ 
sachusetts,  had  a  most  successful  School, 
using  the  Survey  as  their  basis  of  study. 
They  met  at  5  :30,  when  a  cafeteria  supper 
was  served.  At  6  :30  they  went  into  their 
classes,  which  were  followed  by  the  prayer 
service.  The  testimony  of  the  pastor  was 
that  they  never  enjoyed  such  prayer  meet¬ 
ings  as  following  these  sessions  studying 
the  needs  of  the  field.  This  church  more 
than  made  its  quota  in  the  New  World 
Movement. 

First  Baptist  Church  of  Redlands, 
California,  has  held  for  four  seasons  a 
“Church  School  of  Missions.”  The  first 
and  second  sessions  of  the  School  used  the 
regular  study  text  book,  while  the  third 
used  “The  Survey.”  The  first  school  had 
five  classes,  the  men  averaging  35,  women, 
44,  Senior  B.  Y.  P.  U.  45,  High  School 
B.  Y.  P.  U.  23,  Junior  23.  In  the  second 
school  there  were  eight  classes,  and  the 
total  attendance  each  week  ran  268-275-263- 
276-287-294.  The  third  session  of  five 
weeks  with  seven  classes  averaged  196.  The 

5 


results  noted  are:  Reading  of  missionary 
literature  was  increased,  the  men  organized 
for  mission  study,  and  a  group  of  Japanese 
children  was  brought  into  the  Bible  School, 
as  a  result  of  studying  “ Americanization.” 

The  fourth  session  has  closed  recently, 
and  the  following  figures  are  significant : 

Additions  to  Church  Membership  to  November, 


1920  . 187 

Total  Church  Membership . 663 


Church  School  of  Missions — largest  attendance.  .321 

— lowest  attendance.  .252 


Allotment — New  World  Movement . $67,250 

Subscribed — New  World  Movement .  68,185 


First  Baptist  Church  of  Riverside  held 
two  series  of  studies  under  the  “School  of 
Missions,  ’  ’  planning  one  in  the  fall  and  one 
in  the  spring  months ;  in  each  case  having 
six  classes  with  total  enrollment  of  about 
300  people.  The  School  which  was  held 
just  prior  to  the  hour  of  evening  service, 
made  the  young  people’s  hour  throb  with 
new  life  and  interest,  and  increased  the  at¬ 
tendance  at  the  evening  service ;  and  last, 
but  not  least,  was  a  potent  factor  in  putting 
the  church  “over  the  top”  with  its  quota 
in  the  New  World  Movement. 

First  Baptist  Church  of  San  Bernar¬ 
dino,  California,  held  three  sessions  of 


6 


‘  ‘  School  of  Missions,  ’  ’  meeting  Sunday  eve¬ 
nings  at  6  :30  P.  M.,  the  attendance  ranging 
from  100  to  164,  the  large  proportion  being 
young  people.  The  last  evening  each  class 
put  on  a  special  demonstration  of  the  work 
covered  in  the  course,  and  four  young  men 
made  a  confession  of  Christ  and  united 
with  the  Church  the  following  week.  Five 
young  people  offered  themselves  for  Chris¬ 
tian  life  service  and  led  in  very  generous 
pledges  of  money  toward  the  New  World 
Movement.  The  school  also  has  one  worth¬ 
while  missionary  play  each  winter,  and  is 
now  planning  to  give  “The  Heroine  of 
Ava”  as  appropriate  to  follow  the  study  of 
“The  Bible  and  Missions.” 

The  Sixth  Avenue  Church  in  Tacoma, 
Washington,  has  recently  completed  its 
first  School  of  Missions.  It  continued  for 
eight  weeks  with  an  enrollment  of  ninety, 
and  an  average  of  eighty.  It  was  held  at 
the  B.  Y.  P.  U.  hour,  and  the  Pastor  made 
the  evening  church  services  correspond  to 
the  study  program.  Special  missionary 
sermons  and  demonstrations,  including  a 
Pageant,  gave  added  interest  to  the  study, 
and  among  the  results  mentioned  are  a  new 
community  consciousness  and  a  better  idea 
of  the  kind  of  building  needed  to  carry  on 
their  work. 


7 


How  one  Church  advertised  the 

SCHOOL  ( 
SIXTH  AVENUE 

TACOMA, 

October  3  to  1 


THE  purpose  of  the  School  of  Missions  is1 
ship  in  a  brief,  intensive  study  of  miss 
a  graded  system  of  classes  from  Junior 

The  school  will  meet  each  Sunday  evening 
various  departments  for  the  study  for  one  hour 
service  at  which  special  features,  demonstrations: 
ning  of  October  3,  Dr.  A.  W.  Rider,  of  Los  An 

TEE  STUDY  BOOKS  TO 

JUNIORS — Lamplighters  Across  : 
INTERMEDIATES — Frank  Higgii 
SENIORS — The  Bible  and  Missio 
ADULTS — The  Church  and  the  ( 

The  adult  department  will  probably  be  divider 


E  N  R  O 


I  wish  to  enroll  in  the . 

endeavor  to  attend  each  Sunday  evening. 


( Detach  enrolh 


an 


'  MISSIONS 
APTIST  CHURCH 

ASHINGTON 


'  vember  21,  1920 


3  enrollment  of  a  large  percentage  of  our  member- 
.5  in  America  and  foreign  countries.  There  will  be 
•3  adults. 

(3:45,  and  after  a  very  brief  assembly  will  go  to  the 
This  will  be  followed  immediately  by  a  short  evening 
,id  illustrated  addresses  will  be  given.  On  the  eve- 
;es,  California,  will  be  the  speaker. 

USED  ABE  AS  FOLLOWS: 

e  Sea . Applegarth 

Trail  Blazer . Whittles 

. .  . . Montgomery 

:iiunity . Diffendorfer 

%to  two  classes;  one  for  men  and  one  for  women. 


L  M  E  N  T 

department  of  the  School  of  Missions,  and  will 


'igned . 

t  slip  and  hand  in) 


TESTIMONIAL  BRIEFS 

“In  June,  1920,  the  twelfth  annual 
School  of  Missions  Study  was  held  in  Los 
Angeles,  with  sessions  in  the  Temple  and 
First  Baptist  Churches.  Growing  interest 
and  large  attendance  resulted.” 

“One  great  advantage  of  this  plan  is  that 
it  pours  the  forces  of  the  church,  all  classes, 
into  the  study  hour,  without  the  peril  of  old 
people  monopolizing  the  young  people’s 
hour,  for  these  groups  are  kept  in  separate 
classes,  and  at  the  same  time  it  induces  all 
elements  to  remain  to  the  evening  service.” 

“Your  inquiry  of  the  20th  ult.,  regard¬ 
ing  Schools  of  Missions  in  Southern  Cali¬ 
fornia  is  at  hand.  In  our  Covina  church 
we  had  three  classes — men,  women  and 
young  people.  We  met  at  six  on  Sunday 
evening.  Studied  Brooks’  Christian 
Americanization.  There  were  sixty  en¬ 
rolled.  Average  attendance  perhaps  fifty. 
We  had  the  matter  presented  at  a  Sunday 
morning  service  before  the  classes  began, 
and  passed  cards  to  be  signed  for  joining 
the  classes.  Classes  lasted  six  weeks.  It 
was  a  success,  and  we  propose  to  work  it 
again.  The  men’s  class  was  the  first  men’s 
missionary  study  class  ever  conducted  in 
the  church.” 

EFFECT  UPON  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  SOCIETY,  AS 
REPORTED  BY  REV.  A.  W.  RIDER 

“Many  a  Young  People’s  Society  has 
grown  lifeless,  and  its  constant  emphasis  on 
a  testimony  meeting  has  not  availed  to  lift 
it  out  of  a  rut.  In  numerous  cases,  a  short 
interval  of  participation  in  this  study 


10 


course  has  sent  the  young  people  back,  fired 
with  new  ideals  of  life  service,  which  have 
revolutionized  the  work  of  the  society.” 

1 1  The  attendance  at  these  schools  has  fre¬ 
quently  ranged  from  200  to  250  in  churches 
where  the  usual  attendance  at  the  Young 
People’s  Societies  had  been  but  fifty.  The 
large  number  of  students  going  from  the 
School  of  Missions  into  the  evening  service 
in  numerous  instances  has  carried  life  into 
hitherto  listless  evening  congregations.” 

PREPARATION 

Getting  ready  is  very  important.  All 
plans  should  be  made  in  close  co-operation 
with  the  Pastor,  the  leaders  of  the  Sunday 
School,  of  Young  People’s  Work,  and  of  the 
Woman’s  Societies.  Wherever  possible,  ap¬ 
point  a  Cabinet  or  Special  Committee  on 
which  each  society  and  department  will  be 
represented.  Where  there  happens  to  be  a 
Missionary  Committee  or  a  Committee  on 
Religious  Education,  this  may  be  charged 
with  the  responsibility. 

This  Cabinet  or  Committee  should  ap¬ 
point  the  following  sub-committees  many 
weeks  in  advance  of  the  opening  of  the 
School : 

The  Committee  on  Courses  and 
Leaders  will  decide  subjects  of  study 
and  of  lectures  (if  any),  will  see  that 
the  books  are  ordered  and  that  leaders 
are  secured  and  are  given  to  under¬ 
stand  just  what  is  wanted  of  them. 

The  Committee  on  Publicity  or 
Promotion  will  devise  and  use  appro¬ 
priate  means  to  arrest  attention  and 
win  response  of  all  church  people. 

11 


The  Committee  on  Enrollment  will 
secure  definite  enrollment  of  as  many 
as  possible,  and  will  see  that  final  an¬ 
nouncement  of  arrangements  reaches 
those  enrolled,  and  that  text-books  are 
in  their  hands  before  the  first  session. 

The  Committee  on  Equipment  will 
see  that  necessary  rooms,  tables,  black¬ 
boards,  maps  and  stereopticon  are  pre¬ 
pared,  and  that  matters  of  temperature 
and  arrangement  of  chairs  are  attended 
to. 

THE  TIME 

Sessions  of  the  Church  School  of  Missions 
should  be  held  once  a  week  for  from  six  to 
ten  weeks  at  whatever  time  in  the  year  is 
most  convenient  to  the  particular  church. 

The  majority  of  churches  have  held  the 
School  of  Missions  on  the  evening  of  the 
midweek  meeting.  (Incidentally,  it  has 
solved  the  problem  of  the  midweek  meeting 
in  a  large  number  of  cases.)  Others  prefer 
Sunday  evening.  Still  others  have  selected 
a  separate  evening  for  the  School.  The 
choice  should  fall  upon  whichever  evening 
promises  the  attendance  of  the  largest  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  congregation. 

In  some  cases  certain  classes  in  the  School 
of  Missions,  as  for  example  groups  of 
women,  meet  during  the  day  at  an  hour 
convenient  to  the  members. 

CLASSES  AND  CLASSIFICATION 

The  number  of  classes  will  depend  on  the 
church  membership  and  leaders  procurable. 
It  is  best  not  to  have  the  classes  too  large, 
as  the  method  best  adapted  to  their  use  is 


12 


that  of  free  discussion.  The  lecture  method 
is  not  recommended.  Classes  should  be 
provided  for  all  ages  so  that  parents  may 
come  and  enter  classes  knowing  their  chil¬ 
dren  are  being  taught  by  specially  prepared 
leaders.  The  following  is  a  suggested 
classification,  small  congregations  combin¬ 
ing  where  necessary  and  large  congrega¬ 
tions  providing  more  classes  as  seems  ad¬ 
visable  : 

Primary  Class 
Junior  Boys’  Class 
Junior  Girls’  Class 
Intermediate  Boys’  Class 
Intermediate  Girls’  Class 
Young  People’s  or  Seniors’  Class 
Men’s  Class — Foreign  Book 
Women’s  Class — Foreign  Book 
Men’s  Class — Home  Book 
Women’s  Class — Home  Book 

COURSES 

Most  churches  will  wish  to  have  studied 
the  current  mission  study  books  on  Home 
and  Foreign  Missions.  Some  will  wish  to 
use  the  Baptist  Survey,  which  is  our  de¬ 
nominational  text-book  for  the  New  World 
Movement.  Others  will  wish  to  study  some 
special  field  or  theme  within  the  broad 
range  of  Home  and  Foreign  missions.  The 
regular  study  books,  however,  are  recom¬ 
mended. 

MISSION  STUDY  TEXT-BOOKS  FOR  1921 
Uome 

Adult— “ From  Survey  to  Service” . H.  Paul  Douglass 

Youna  People — “Playing  Square  With  Tomorrow” 

Fred  Eastman 

Intermediate — “Making  Life  Count”  ..  Eugene  C.  Foster 

Junior — “Stay  at  Home  Journeys” 

Agnes  Wilson  Osborne 


13 


Foreign 

Adult — 1.  “The  Kingdom  and  the  Nations” .  .Eric  North 

2.  “Why  and  How  of  Foreign  Missions” 

(Revised  Edition) . Arthur  J.  Brown 

Young  People — “World  Friendship,  Inc.” 

J.  Lovell  Murray 

Intermediate — “A  Noble  Army”.. Ethel  Daniels  Hubbard 

Junior — “Under  Many  Flags” 

Mrs.  E.  C.  Cronk  and  Elsie  Singmaster 

Home  and  Foreign 
“The  Baptist  Survey” 

Stewardship 

“The  Withered  Fig-Tree” — Studies  in  Stewardship, 

E.  M.  Poteat 


HELPS 

Baptist  Survey  Hand-Books 

“The  Mission  Study  Class”  (revised) - T.  H.  P.  Sailer 

“The  Mission  Study  Class  Manual” . B.  C.  Millikin 

“The  Mission  Study  Class  Method” . Dorothea  Day 

Suggestions  to  Leaders,  for  study  books. 

The  City  Library  is  a  valuable  aid,  and 
will  provide  books  and  lists  of  references  if 
previously  requested. 

For  1922-23,  general  themes  have  been 
chosen,  and  the  authors  selected,  but  no  an¬ 
nouncement  is  yet  ready.  The  subject  for 
Foreign  study  will  be  India,  and  for  Home 
study  the  Race  Question. 

LEADERS 

Let  not  churches  look  to  outside  ‘ 1  Spe¬ 
cialists”  to  lead  their  classes.  The  best  re¬ 
sults  will  come  in  churches  which  provide 
their  own  leaders.  It  can  be  done.  Large 
numbers  of  churches  have  done  it.  Select 
persons  with  some  real  teaching  ability  as 


14 


well  as  interest  in  the  subject  and  willing¬ 
ness  to  put  in  some  good,  hard  work.  The 
excellent  helps  provided  by  the  Boards  will 
enable  such  a  leader  to  do  good  work. 

If  possible,  the  leaders  should  meet  sev¬ 
eral  times  for  training  before  their  classes 
begin.  Better  still,  let  them  attend  a  Sum¬ 
mer  Conference  or  a  Winter  Institute  or  a 
Community  Denominational  or  Interde¬ 
nominational  Normal  class. 

THE  PASTOR’S  PART 

Experience  shows  that  in  almost  every 
case  where  a  Church  School  of  Missions  has 
been  a  conspicuous  success,  it  has  had  the 
enthusiastic  backing  of  the  Pastor.  Often 
he  has  trained  the  leaders,  sometimes  he  has 
taken  a  class  in  the  School. 

He  should  usually  have  the  closing  period 
of  worship  in  his  care.  In  preparation  for 
the  School,  and  it  may  be  also  to  tie  up  its 
impressions,  he  should  make  missions  and 
the  large  ideas  of  the  School  prominent 
in  his  preaching.  No  one  can  better  adver¬ 
tise  the  School.  If  he  assumes  the  attitude, 
“ Here’s  a  great  opportunity  and  we’re  all 
going  to  make  the  most  of  it,  ’  ’  he  can  great¬ 
ly  stimulate  attendance. 

The  Pastor  will  want  to  keep  very  close 
to  the  work  of  the  School,  and  the  impres¬ 
sions  being  made  in  it,  that  he  may  conserve 
its  results. 

For  specific  information  concerning  the 
Church  School  of  Missions,  and  other  plans 
for  missionary  education,  write  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Missionary  Education,  276  Fifth 
Avenue,  New  York  City. 


15 


7T  is  strange  how  some 
Christians  can  with¬ 
hold  from  the  world, 
without  compunction,  the 
best  news  that  ever  came 
into  it.” 


v 


No.  21-M.E.-II-15M-J une,  1921 


